2A Girls Pre-Season Cross Country Preview: Yorkville Poised To Create Own Dynasty
It will be a very interesting year in the middle-class division after a solid last fall followed by an even better track and field season led by two-time defending state champion Yorkville. Coach Chris Muth’s team will be back to defend their title with extreme force. As well, there will be plenty of teams and individuals ready to challenge for state supremacy.
5. Glen Ellyn Glenbard South-
Head Coach: Brian Webb/Allison Sippel (asst. coach)
2012 final season finish: state- 4th (172pts)
Key returners: Diane Lipa (So.)- 10th, Jayme Schlenker (Jr.)- 23rd, Becca Sippel (Jr.)- 27th, Caroline Arlasky (Jr.)- 90th, Bailey Reese (Sr.)- 111th, Elizabeth Niedert, (Sr.)- 131st.
Newcomers: Abby Schlenker (Fr.), Alyssa Flores (Fr.).
Projected top 7: Lipa, Schlenker, Sippel, Arlasky, Niedert, Schlenker, Flores
Season outlook from Coach Webb: “The summer has been successful so far. We’re healthy and the girls have set some ambitious goals for the upcoming year. We had several close calls last year, most notably missing out on the award stand due to the tie-breaker rule taking affect, so I think that has served/is serving as added motivation right now. But we’re aware that just about
4. Marengo-
Head Coach: RJ Meyer
2012 final season finish: state- 5th (174pts)
Key returners: Kitty Allen (Jr.)- 16th, Allie Sprague (Sr.)- 46th, Katie St. Clair (Sr.)- 60th, Lexie Olson (Jr.)- 83rd, Kaylin Punotai (Jr.)- 110th, Claire Cowan (Jr.)- 183rd.
Season outlook: The Indians only lose the incomparable and program mainstay, Katie Adams (now at University of Iowa), but they return a loaded team and a healthy Allie Sprague. Ms. Sprague enjoyed a bounce back year on the track this past spring by placing second in the 1600m and fourth in the 800m. She has some serious wheels and if she can stay healthy throughout the season and motivated for three-miles, the Indians will be knocking on the trophy door. Kitty Allen is the team’s top runner who enjoyed a solid track season that netted a trip to the state final in the 3200m. She also took a moment out of her summer training to run 18:30 at the Detweiller at Dark Meet. So it appears that this team will be a major threat in Peoria this fall.
3. Crystal Lake Central-
Head Coach: Anthony DeStephano
2012 final season finish: state-7th (203pts)
Key returners: Sami Staples (Jr.)- 4th, Maddie Dagley (Sr.)- 35th, Mary Fleming (Jr.)- 48th, Rachel Kautz (Jr.)- 76th, Avery Roberston (Sr.)- 87th.
Season outlook: The Tigers return their top five from last year’s state championship run. The squad is formable despite producing a heart rate jumping 1-5 scoring split of 1:36. They will have a few problems in that department if the upper pack can’t improve. Also keep in mind that 2011 state champion Sami Staples was in a boot much of this summer with a fractured foot. Her progress will be slow early in the season but the expectations will be for her to be among the state’s top runners in November. The summer training has been solid for the Tigers who usually start out the season fast. The key will be for them to keep that momentum throughout the campaign into November.
2. Normal (University)-
Head Coach: Lester Hampton
2012 final season finish: State Runner-up (112pts)
Key returners: Sydney Billingsley (Sr.)-6th, Shannan Supan (So.)- 14th, Ashley LaFayette (Jr.)- 30th, Madigan Landess (So.)- 85th, Christy Hulett (Jr.)- 95th.
Projected line-up: Billingsley, Supan, LaFayette, Landess, Hulett,
Season outlook: There is no reason to believe that the Pioneers can’t have a repeat performance of their wonderful 2012 season that resulted in a second place effort at state. After all they return their top two runners and five of their top seven. Sydney Billingsley will remain as one of the top runners in the classification after producing a wonderful academic calendar year. Billingsley won the Illinois Top Times indoor 1600m title and followed up with an eighth place medal in the same event outdoors. Look out for an improved Ashley LaFayette to accompany her. LaFayette ran 5:19 and 11:17 in the spring. The latter produced a fifth place finish in the 3200m state final. Don’t forget about Shannan Supan. She was the team’s second best runner last season. She also enjoyed a solid track season running 5:23 and 11:31 times and earning a 14th place finish in the 3200m. The key for the Pioneers will be to find someone to close out the #5 position. At state last year, the 1-5 scoring split was 1:10. With key losses and no one to replace them the Pioneers could see the same troubling trend and that could mean the difference between earning a trophy and finishing late in the top 10.
1. Yorkville-
Head Coach/coaching staff: Chris Muth/Ben Draper & Lauren Bales
2012 final season finish: State Champions (66 points)
Key returners: Skyler Bollinger (So.)- 5th, Summer Pierson (So.)- 8th, Erin Reynolds (So.), Kelsey Leedy (Sr.)-28th, Sydney Beach (So.)- 59th.
Projected top seven: Bollinger, Peirson, Leedy, Reynolds, Julia Schulz (So.), Maddie Dearborn (Fr.), Beach, or Becca Jasutis (So.).
Newcomers: Maddie Dearborn and Julia Magezzini.
Season outlook: Coach Muth’s bunch will return as the heavy favorite despite graduating a strong senior class that featured mainstays Lindsay Foster, Casey Kramer, and Bri Stuepfert. Muth’s assessment seemed rather conservative when addressing the state of this year’s team. “We aren’t as talented as we were individually wise a year ago, but we have a group of girls that really love the sport and look forward for each other throughout the season,” he said, “If we can stay healthy, we should be in the mix for a top five finish at the end of the year.” However, this season’s group completed a wonderful track season led by then freshman sensation, Skyler Bollinger. The forever sun shades wearing Bollinger anchored a blazing 4x800 relay that placed third in the 3A finals (9:14.12). All eyes will stay on Bollinger as she becomes the headlining harrier this season after producing arguably the second best individual season behind Madeline Perez (Glen Ellyn Glenbard West). She may be the individual favorite come November after running a sizzling 16:52 3-miler in July at Detweiller Park. That time is faster than last year’s state championship mark. The supporting cast is strong considering how good Summer Pierson and Kelsey Leedy are. Both girls had outstanding track seasons and that should translate to even better cross country campaigns.
Coach Muth's Take: Team unity is the major strength of this team. We aren’t as individually talented as last year, but they are a group that really likes the sport and enjoys working for each other and not against each other. We are slightly deeper overall than last year’s team, but don’t have the same top end talent, losing Casey Kramer. The Detweiller at dark race is a solid indication of where we are currently at as a team, besides my #3, Erin Reynolds not running. Training has been consistent and in the 40+ miles a week area all summer. We have had just a feel minor injuries, but all in all we are almost fully healthy going into the season. The girls have attended Wisconsin and Illinois camps this summer and have enjoyed them a ton.We lose a senior class that was one of the most experienced and successful classes in the history of women’s cross country in illinois, and you just can’t replace that. We had a really solid summer of training as a varsity team that consisted of great participation and 40+ miles a week of base training. Our goal this year is for the girls to continue to grow as runners and increase their understanding of the sport while enjoying each other. We aren’t as talented as we were individually wise a year ago, but we have a group of girls that really love the sport and look forward to running for each other throughout the season. If we can stay healthy, we should be in the mix for a top 5 finish at the end of the year.